Greek PM in Israel says Turkey a ‘threat to regional peace’

Greek PM in Israel says Turkey a ‘threat to regional peace’

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday accused Turkey of being a “threat to regional peace,” following wide-ranging talks in Jerusalem with his Israeli counterpart.

In his first foreign trip since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Mitsotakis condemned “Turkey’s aggressive behavior in the eastern Mediterranean.”

“We consider this activity to be a threat to regional peace and stability,” Mitsotakis told journalists after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Along with Cyprus, Israel and Greece signed an agreement in January on building an undersea pipeline to carry gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe.

Ankara stands opposed to the deal and has sent ships to search for energy reserves off Cyprus, while last week the Turkish military conducted an air and naval exercise in the eastern Mediterranean.

“I have raised with the Prime Minister the recent incidents of illegal and provocative Turkish behavior at our sea and land borders,” the Greek premier said, standing alongside Netanyahu.

Mitsotakis also criticized the “destabilizing effects that Turkey has played vis-a-vis its relationship with Libya.”

Ankara backs the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), based in the capital Tripoli, which for more than a year has battled an offensive by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Turkey has sent air defense systems and drones and Syrian rebel fighters in support of the GNA, reversing earlier defeats to Haftar’s forces.

The Turkish government additionally signed a controversial deal last year with the GNA that claimed gas-rich areas of the Mediterranean for Ankara, an agreement deemed “completely null and void” on Tuesday by Mitsotakis.

Focusing on two-way ties, Netanyahu held off from criticizing Turkey and was instead upbeat about Israel’s partnership with Athens.

“We have common interests, we face common challenges, we have extraordinary common opportunities,” he said.

The Greek delegation is the largest to visit Jerusalem in months, with Mitsotakis bringing six ministers including the defense, energy and tourism ministers.

Netanyahu said his government aims to allow Israelis to travel to Greece and Cyprus from August 1, if coronavirus infection rates remain low.

Greece started welcoming tourists from around 30 countries on Monday, following closures due to the pandemic, while Israel is yet to lift its ban on visitors imposed in March.

According to Israeli officials, the government is counting on Greece and other “friendly” countries to support it at the EU level.

The European Union (EU) is currently weighing retaliatory measures as Israel plans to annex parts of Judea and Samaria, a step included in a US peace initiative.

The Greek delegation will not travel to the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority (PA) officials, who have categorically rejected Washington’s plan.

But in an interview published by Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot, Mitsotakis said he would speak to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas “once I return to Athens.”

“We want to see the Israelis and the Palestinians living alongside one another in peace and security,” he said.

More than 450,000 Israelis and 2.7 million PA Arabs live in Judea and Samaria.